Decoding Multicultural Education in Asia : Prospects and Challenges for School Development

This edited book continues the calls to broaden the dialogue on multicultural education, which has long been dominated by Western Anglosphere perspectives. It critically examines how multicultural education shapes school and curriculum development across Asian education systems. The book examines concepts and evidence that demonstrate the transformative potential of multicultural education in harnessing the value of living together in diversity. It presents cases that show how schools and universities respond to the evolving but often overlooked diversity of students from different ethnic and language groups in the region. Contributors highlight the potentials and challenges embedding multicultural education principles in different Asian national and societal contexts, including the impact of these on curriculum planning, learning and teaching. Designed for academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students, educators, and practitioners, this book delivers critical insights and practical strategies for advancing equity in culturally diverse education contexts. 

Dr. Jan Gube is Assistant Professor at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Assistant Dean (International Engagement) at the Faculty of Education and Human Development, The Education University of Hong Kong. He serves as Managing Editor of Intercultural Education, Editor of Cogent Education, and Editorial Board Member of Belonging. His research explores how schools and civil society can leverage cultural differences to create equitable, caring learning environments. Focusing on diversity, race, and ethnicity, Jan examines their impact on curriculum and pedagogy. He co-edited the books titled “Education, Ethnicity and Equity in the Multilingual Asian Context” (Springer, 2019), and “Identities, Practices and Education of Evolving Multicultural Families in Asia-Pacific” (Routledge, 2022).
 
Dr. Gao Fang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership at the Education University of Hong Kong. She is also the Leader of the Master’s Programme in Global Studies in Education. She graduated from the University of Hong Kong, majoring in Sociology of Education. Her research focuses on educational equity and diversity, with particular interests in Chinese Korean communities and minority groups from South Asia and Southeast Asia in Hong Kong. Her work also includes the internationalisation of higher education and the mobility of international students. She has published monographs and academic articles in various journals, and has led and contributed to significant projects funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office of the HKSAR.
 
Dr. Miron Bhowmik is Assistant Professor at the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). He is also the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist in the Faculty of Education and Human Development. Miron is interested in educational policies and practices as they relate to equity, diversity, and inclusion. He takes a critical perspective to understand how minoritized groups’ education and well-being are affected, and how they can be better supported. He has published works in reputed platforms and in the areas of ethnic minority education, identity, “out of school”/school failure issues, racism, and anti-racist education, inclusive leadership, acculturative stress and coping behavior, and information and communications technology (ICT) in education.
 
Professor John Lee Chi-Kin, President and Chair Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, joined The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK, the then Hong Kong Institute of Education) in 2010. He was Vice President (Academic) from 2010 to 2019, and Vice President (Academic) and Provost from 2019 to 2023. Professor Lee has served as Editor of the International Journal of Children's Spirituality, and Executive Editor of Teachers and Teaching and Teaching and Teacher Education, as well as an editorial board member or advisory editor of many local, regional, and international journals. He is also Prolific Writer, having edited and written more than 25 books, and published over 100 journal articles and book chapters.